Heh, I can hardly wait for The Rage, but I suppose I can waste time until them by pestering the author with questions!

A simple one, if you will. Why a Sharran Monk? Why not a Monk of The Long Death, or somesuch? It was as if you read my mind.... Sharran cultists are some of my favorite NPC's...

The Chosen of Vhaeraun"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri.

Well, why not a Monk of the Dark Moon?As I dimly recall, I knew in very general terms what sort of character I needed to fill the role that Sefris ultimately filled. The character needed to represent one of Faerūn's evil cults or conspiracies or something of the sort, and she had to be so powerful that, even working together, the two protagonists would seem to be no match for her. So, I flipped through Lords of Darkness, found the Monks of the Dark Moon, and thought, people who worship Shar have got to be pretty darn scary, and a villain who's both a monk and a sorcerer could be pretty darn powerful. So I went with that.I wish there was a more profound reason, or a better story about how I came up with Sefris, but that's about the size of it.

I received my author copies of The Rage (The Year of Rogue Dragons, Book One) today. So I would imagine that those of you who are interested (please, PLEASE, be interested) will be able to find it in a bookstore pretty soon.This is the first time that I've seen Matt Stawicki's cover painting full size (well, paperback size, anyway.) It's very, very nice, and captures the spirit of the trilogy perfectly. Hope the original's on exhibit in the GenCon art show this year.From glancing inside the book, I see that the Realms of the Dragons anthology is scheduled for December, 2004. I thought it was due out before the end of the year, but I wasn't actually sure.And that's my bit of news.

Renegade dragon hunter Dorn hates dragons with a passion few can believe, let alone match. He has devoted his entire life--a life spent in the twisted body of a half-golem--to killing every dragon he can find. You might feel the same way if one of them had killed your entire family in front of your eyes, bitten you in half, and left you for dead. Killing one dragon at a time is hard enough, but when the irresistible impulse to slip into feral madness begins to overcome not one, but every dragon all across Faerūn, civilization's only hope may lie in the last alliance Dorn and his fellow dragon hunters would ever accept. No matter what happens, the next year is going to be a difficult one for Dorn, and for Faerūn itself. The Year of Rogue Dragons has come.

And, because I'm a sport, here's the little excerpt from the blurb page inside the front cover:

THE RAGE IS NEARLY UPON US. All the portents say so. Those of us with the proper gifts can see it in the shape of the clouds, or hear it in the murmur of the rivers. Every divination points to it. Many of you can feel it in your restlessness and ill temper, in the vile pictures that rise unbidden in your mind. I witness it in my dreams, whenever I can bear to sleep. A Rage is surely coming, the greatest ever, a madness that will overwhelm every one of us as completely as it will our evil kindred. We must protect the small folk from our fury.

quote:Originally posted by Richard Lee ByersWe must protect the small folk from our fury.

Very good teaser information. I love this last line. Veddy interesting. Thank you for sharing that.

I see that Barnes and Noble has this novel as an April 9th release. In my experiences they are usually conservative in their estimates and the novel should appear a little before that. I'm guessing the end of this month. Lisa Smedman's latest novel, to my knowledge, was set for a March release, and it started appearing the end of February. Thus, I hope this novel appears early as well.

well amzon.de has a release dat of April 1st. Mmh, I see no way that novel can be shipped to Europe faster than it“s beeing published in the states...

By the way, this novel is one of those products I“ve been looking forward most this year. And the teasers offered by the Author himself sound more than promising. I can truly feel those great Lizards of Legend come to life in Faerśn at last...

Will we meet old friends, like some of the Wyrms of the North, I wonder...

well amzon.de has a release dat of April 1st. Mmh, I see no way that novel can be shipped to Europe faster than it“s beeing published in the states...

WOTC doesn't have a European division or European printers?

One question for Mr. Byers. Did WOTC approach you about writing this trilogy? Or were you the one who approached them? Thanks in advance for any answer. From Sembia, to drow, to rogues, to dragons. Interesting progression.

WotC approached me and said, we would like you to do the next "Realms-Shaking Event" trilogy. We want it to focus on the dragons of the Realms, we want it to involve a Rage of Dragons (or at least the threat of one), and we want it to tie in somehow to the fact that according to prophecy, 1373 DR is to be the Year of Rogue Dragons.I took it from there, devising a plot that met the requirements.

Just regarding Dragon rages: I was under the impression that they only happaned every 100-200 years and there was one not long ago (Theres mention of a rage in the old Grey FR boxset, I believe it occured in 1357-8 Dale Reckoning) which is less than 20 years ago, Elaine tied the event to a Comet called the King Killer which when it appeared in Torils skys caused the Dragons to rage if Torils solar system is similar to ours then there should be at least 75 year gap between the King Killers appearances (75 years is how long Haleys comet takes to complete a circuit of our a solar system)

Sirius: Yes, the WotC folks did use the "RSE" term. Apparently they don't feel it's inherently negative, and it does in fact describe the kind of story I'm telling.Dargoth: I was already aware of the facts you mentioned (actually, if memory serves, it's usually more like three hundred years between Rages), and any seeming anomalies or inconsistencies are addressed (explicitly or implicitly) as the story unfolds. More than that, I can't say here without spoiling some of the surprises.

Dargoth: I was already aware of the facts you mentioned (actually, if memory serves, it's usually more like three hundred years between Rages), and any seeming anomalies or inconsistencies are addressed (explicitly or implicitly) as the story unfolds. More than that, I can't say here without spoiling some of the surprises.

How much work have you done on the other two books in the series? This may sound stupid, but has the whole plot been laid out and notes made as to the final outcome of the RSE already?

I only ask due to something I mentioned somewhere previously about Mel Odem having to change the outcome of the Threat from the Sea Trilogy and that it also appears that the Return of the Archwizards Trilogy also built up and up only to be toned right down in the last novel.

Oh, and im EXTREMELY giddy about this series, sounds like its gonna be BIIIIIIIIIG!!!!

Lord Rad

"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"

In broad, general terms, the entire trilogy was outlined and approved before I started writing Book One.Obviously, Book One (The Rage) is finished. I've turned in Book Two (The Rite), and now my editor will either approve it as is or (more likely, alas) ask for some revision.Once I put The Rite to bed, the next step will be to create a detailed outline of Book Three (The Ruin) and get my editor's approval. The overall trilogy outline that's already approved covers the essentials of how things are supposed to turn out, why, and how, but leaves other matters vaguer than is evidently consistent with editorial peace of mind.I suppose it's not IMPOSSIBLE that, at the eleventh hour, WotC might decide that they want the trilogy to end differently, but I consider it highly unlikely. At the very beginning of the project, I had a phone conference with Phil Athans, Peter Archer, and other WotC honchos, I told them what I had in mind, and everybody was cool with it.

quote:Originally posted by Richard Lee ByersOnce I put The Rite to bed, the next step will be to create a detailed outline of Book Three (The Ruin) and get my editor's approval.

A general question please to Richard Lee Byers regarding the above post. On average, how large is an outline you create for one of your WOTC works? I'm asking because I vaguely recall another author mentioning on the old WOTC boards an outline done and the size was astonishing. Thank you in advance for any reply.

Broken: Glad you enjoyed the Scarred Lands books. I would love to do more, but at this point, there are no plans for any. White Wolf would have to decide they want them, obviously, and the sad truth of it is that the Dead God Trilogy didn't sell very well. When that happens, a publisher is often able to contain his enthusiasm at the prospect of sequels.But who knows, maybe someday.Sirius: I don't have the knack for the extremely terse novel outlines that some people can generate, but with practice, I've gotten somewhat pithier. The outline for The Rage is fourteen pages (double-spaced, of course.) But it includes an explanation of the concept for the whole trilogy, and an overview of how the entire story is going to play out. The outline for The Rite is eleven pages.

Two more weeks,and counting Richard.Can't wait for The Rage!!!C'mon Richard maybe a little sneak preview,or somethin!!!Wait,you're going to say that we have waited this long.We can wait another two weeks.Darn secretive authors!!!

LIFE,BIRTH,BLOOD,DOOM---THE HOLE IN THE GROUND IS COMING ROUND SOON----BLS

"Darn secretive authors?" Vedsica, in the immortal words of Adrian Monk: You'll thank me later.But with regard to a teaser, you did notice that I posted the back-cover and blurb-page copy a few posts back, right? There's also another note about the trilogy somewhere on these boards, one I posted several weeks ago. To save you the trouble of hunting for it, let me repeat the gist: In the trilogy, we're going to visit parts of the Realms that haven't seen much play in the fiction of late. Some may even be virgin territory. We'll feature races and classes that are similarly underexposed, in a story that concerns both a threat to all of contemporary Faerūn and the exploration of a primoridal mystery, and a clash with a legendary archvillain as well. It's also got more dragons than you can shake a staff of wizardry at.So I hope everyone will check it out.

I just read the online sample chapter of The Rage. Gasp! I liked the sample chapter at the end of The Black Boquet. However, this new one is even better and clearly shows how scary dragons can be.

To Richard Lee Byers, a question, did you reference any past or present gaming material when writing scenes for this novel and the forthcoming ones in the trilogy? Or is the attack that one character suffers as a child all from the twisted imagination of an author's mind?

Thanks in advance and if the rest of the novel shows dragons as scary as this latest portion did, you are going to make many people happy.

I didn't know there was a sample chapter up online. Glad to hear it.Anyway, Sirius, to answer your question (if I understand it correctly), I write all my FR fiction with the appropriate reference materials ready to hand. However, the scene you read is not a retelling of an incident I found in another source. I made it up my own self. The same is true of the rest of the plot (although the story line does make reference to past events in the history of Faerūn.

quote:Originally posted by Richard Lee ByersAnyway, Sirius, to answer your question (if I understand it correctly), I write all my FR fiction with the appropriate reference materials ready to hand. However, the scene you read is not a retelling of an incident I found in another source. I made it up my own self. The same is true of the rest of the plot (although the story line does make reference to past events in the history of Faerūn.

Apologies, didn't mean in asking whether it was a retelling or reaccounting from another work, but exactly what you said at the first part of the post, whether or not you used any reference materials when writing a scene like that. Thank you for the reply.

Leery as I am of giving stuff away, I guess it does no grievous harm to say that The Rage has no scenes set in Glen.Now satisfy my curiosity, Dargoth: Out of all the locales in the Realms, what is it about Glen that prompted you to ask about it in particular?